Earl Bostic Jazz As I Feel It (King 1963)

November 14, 2022November 15, 2022 - Francois Leave a comment

Jazz as Earl Bostic felt it in a rare cooperation with Richard “Groove” Holmes, Joe Pass and Shelly Manne was flawless, blues-drenched and pure dynamite.

Personnel

Earl Bostic (alto saxophone), Richard “Groove” Holmes (organ), Joe Pass (guitar), Herbert Grody or James Bond (bass), Shelly Manne or Charles Blackwell (drums)

Recorded

on August 13 & 14, 1963 at World Pacific Studios, Los Angeles

Released

as King 846 in 1963

Track listing

Side A:
Don’t Do It Please
Ten Out
Telestar Drive
A Taste Of Fresh Air
Side B:
Hunt And Peck
Fast Track
Apple Cake

He walked into bop cradle Minton’s in Harlem in 1951 and learned quite a few cats all about the saxophone. Art Blakey said: “Working with Bostic is like attending a university of the saxophone.”

So, obviously there’s more behind the explosive sax of Flamingo and other hard-hitting rhythm and blues-hits. Bostic, born in Tulsa, Oklahoma in 1912 and alumnus of Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska and Xavier University in New Orleans, traveled with territory bands in the 1930’s. He worked with Don Redman, Hot Lips Page and Cab Calloway in New York and had a residency with his own band at Small’s Paradise in 1939. Bostic was arranger for Paul Whiteman and Louis Prima before joining Lionel Hampton for a two-year stint. Meanwhile, he had started new bands in the mid-1940’s and following the example of Louis Jordan, seriously started his solo career with a couple of minor hits. His potential was notably fostered by King Records. In total, Bostic would record more than 400 tunes for the Cincinnati-based label of Sid Nathan, including major hits besides Flamingo as Harlem Nocturne, Temptation and Where Or When. Bostic recorded more than thirty LPs for King from 1954 till 1964.

Bostic gained respect from Charlie Parker at Minton’s. Bostic’s groups variously featured John Coltrane, Teddy Edwards, Benny Golson, Stanley and Tommy Turrentine and Blue Mitchell. Coltrane, Golson and James Moody appreciated Bostic’s prowess. In the L.A. studios, Bostic worked with Benny Carter, Barney Kessel and Earl Palmer.

Bostic blew hard and honked relentlessly but his phrases never faltered or broke down and were fluent as the twists and turns from a butterfly, distinguishing him from many of the era’s honking saxophonists. Furthermore, he impressively stretched his alto lines over three octaves. Allegedly, Bostic refused to record everything that he could achieve with the saxophone so as not to give colleagues the chance to copy him.

Not only past masters commented on Bostic’s prowess on the saxophone. I stumbled upon a 2016 column by Dutch saxophonist Benjamin Herman in the excellent Dutch jazz magazine Jazz Bulletin. Herman discusses ‘monster chops’, defining Earl Bostic as the undisputed king. He tells of a Bostic tribute organized by Spanish saxophonist Dani Nelo in Barcelona and that Herman’s part, dedicated to Jazz As I Feel It and A New Sound (the other LP with Holmes and Pass) was an enjoyable and instructive challenge. Afterwards, back in Holland, ultra-young lion Gideon Tazelaar (nowadays lauded by none other than Wynton Marsalis) pointed out the existence of the blasting Up There In Orbit to the Amsterdam-based, UK-born Herman.

Did Bostic use a tenor sax reed on a Beechler mouthpiece? Question perhaps better asked specifically to pros. However, it would explain his tremendous energy. A force that also is evident on Jazz As I Feel It, which consists of two sessions, both with organist Richard “Groove” Holmes and guitarist Joe Pass, with Shelly Manne/Charles Blackwell and Herbert Grody/Jimmy Bond alternating on drums and bass.

Contender to Up There In Orbit might be Telestar Drive, fast-paced bop groove intensified by Bostic, who marries rocket launchings with the roar of the king of the jungle, wild but totally in command, challenged by the energetic Manne. Bostic’s high F ending of Don’t Do It Please – and the journey to it – is madness. Songwriting duties are divided between Bostic and the West Coast-based Buddy Collette and whether it’s slow or medium-tempo blues or a catchy up-tempo rhythm and blues-drenched tune, Pass and Holmes acquit themselves very well, Holmes providing context with various interesting Hammond sounds.

The events surrounding Bostic’s passing were very unfortunate. Bostic owned a club/restaurant, The Flying Fox, in Los Angeles with his wife Hildegarde. However, Bostic was afraid of a possible earthquake and wanted to leave the West Coast. Hildegarde strongly disagreed and filed for divorce in 1965. A week later, Bostic was on tour in the East and completed a residency at the Town House Motel in Rochester, New York. It was there that the monster saxophonist had a heart attack and passed away at the age of 52.

If only Bostic would’ve been able to fulfill his jazz promise at one of those labels that foster elder statesmen like Pablo or Black & Blue. However, making do with Jazz As I Feel It ain’t no punishment.

Listen to Jazz As I Feel It and A New Sound on YouTube here.

Clifford Scott Out Front (Pacific Jazz 1963)

August 31, 2020August 31, 2020 - Francois Leave a comment

Check out this readily ignored but seriously hip and crafty piece of soul jazz and hard bop: tenor saxophonist Clifford Scott’s Out Front.

Personnel

Clifford Scott (tenor and alto saxophone), Joe Pass (guitar), Les McCann (piano), Herbie Lewis (bass), Paul Humphrey (drums)

Recorded

in 1963 at Pacific Jazz Studio in Los Angeles, California

Released

as PJ-66 in 1963

Track listing

Side A:
Samba De Bamba
Over And Over
As Rosie And Ellen Dance
Crosstalk
Side B:
Why Don’t You Do Right
Just Tomorrow
Out Front

As rhythm and blues developed into the most popular black music in the late forties and early fifties, a lot of jazz-oriented musicians jumped the bandwagon in order to make a decent living. Perhaps decent isn’t the appropriate term. Regularly, players switched from swing bands to r&b outfits, which usually meant a change from one grueling touring schedule to another. One bows in awe to them in hindsight, the way guys like Eddie “Lockjaw” Davis, Eddie “Cleanhead” Vinson, Red Holloway, Don Wilkerson or Sam “The Man” Taylor, survived. Tenor saxophonist Clifford Scott, born in San Antonio, Texas in 1928, deceased in 1993, traveled a similar route.

Scott worked with Amos Milburn, Jay McShann, Lionel Hampton, Roy Brown and Roy Milton in the early fifties. Scott provided the groundbreaking honking tenor solo on organist Bill Doggett’s jukebox hit in 1955, Honky Tonk. He stayed with Doggett for a number of years. Subsequently, Scott acted as a leader, trying to capitalize on the honking hype with singles bearing gimmicky titles like Bushy Tail and The Kangaroo, and recorded as a prominent session musician in the r&b and pop field. His last big stint, before settling down as a local hero in San Antonio, was with the Ray Charles band, intermittently, from 1966 to 1970.

Based on the West Coast in the sixties, Scott was featured on a number of Pacific Jazz albums by the organ combo Billy Larkin & The Delegates. Scott recorded Plays The Big Ones on Pacific Jazz in 1963, a gritty soul jazz date featuring Hammond organ. It’s a nice enough date but incomparable with Scott’s subsequent album, Out Front!. During that session, Scott expanded his scope, holding on to the fried-bacon notes and the occasional crowd-pleasing climaxes, while displaying distinct suppleness and double-time fluency. Coming with the slightest vibrato, Scott’s style is sensual as hell, and hot as hell as well.

Sensual also applies to the Les McCann Trio, which consists of McCann, bassist Herbie Lewis, drummer Paul Humphrey, plus Joe Pass, as in: attractive, uplifting, rousing. McCann had cooperated with Joe Pass on Richard “Groove” Holmes’ Something Special, Les McCann’s Featuring Joe Pass, On Time and Soul Hits. The gospel-drenched vigor and probing accompaniment of McCann, the group’s abundant swing and the subtle and peppery phrases of Pass provide a stimulating canvas for the lurid, lean strokes of Scott, whom one imagines must’ve been elated with the possibility of working with such an immaculate quartet.

And as is usual with the presence of McCann on a recording date, the pianist contributes a couple of catchy tunes, like the driving Out Front and the crisp stop-time cooker Over And Over, which is marked by the typical McCann device of a shift in key. McCann also wrote Crosstalk, killer greasy tune that is pure Bo Diddley’s Not Fade Away, thriving on the rousing beat and statements of McCann and Pass and the rubato wail of Scott that takes one by surprise like a tornado in New Mexico: a soul jazz gem stopping at a mere 2.45 minutes.

Samba De Bamba is a different ball game, an equally swinging, Latin hard bop tune. Developing his story from sophisticated, fluent phrasing to the kind of terse blowing of Ben Webster, Scott reveals himself as a singular stylist. This, perhaps, comes as no surprise considering his past in the swing era. It is surprising, though, that the saxophonist wasn’t granted the opportunity to record more extensively throughout his career, except for a couple of albums in the early 90’s. More than that, it is a shame.

Listen to the full album here.

Charles Kynard Reelin’ With The Feelin’ (Prestige 1969)

August 14, 2014January 21, 2016 - Francois Leave a comment

I first became aware of organist Charles Kynard a long time ago, when listening to a Tom Waits record, Blue Valentines. Greasy, sharp-as-a-knife organ injections were the cherries on top of Romeo Is Bleeding, one of that jazzy, theatrical shuffles that the incomparable growler and storyteller Tom Waits brings with so much zest. Ever quick to scroll through sleeve info, I bumped into the name of Kynard.

Charles Kynard - Reelin' With The Feelin'

Personnel

Charles Kynard (organ), Wilton Felder (tenor saxophone), Joe Pass (guitar), Carol Kaye (electric bass), Paul Humphrey (drums)

Recorded

on August 11, 1969 in Los Angeles, California

Released

as PR 7688 in 1969

Track listing

Side A:
Reelin’ With The Feelin’
Soul Reggae
Slow Burn
Side B:
Boogalooin’
Be My Love
Stomp

My mind went elsewhere, as minds often have the inkling to do. Yet, Kynard had stayed in the back of my mind and when I started digging organ jazz of the likes of Jimmy Smith, Don Patterson and Lonnie Smith, out of the ditch climbed Kynard as well. What I learned is that the fact that Kynard did a Waits date is part of the proof that the organist’s nature was ambidextrous. Kynard is best known for his groovy funk and blues recordings on Prestige and Mainstream. But he also was a regular attributor to Hollywood productions and played gospel in church as well.

Reelin’ With The Feelin’ is Kynard’s third release on Prestige and a fitting example of his blues and soul jazz personality. It has an interesting line-up including guitarist Joe Pass – not often heard in such surroundings – The Jazz Crusaders’ tenorist Wilton Felder and ace studio bassist, Carol Kaye. Re-listening this album only for Kaye’s delicious dry, plucky sound and articulate style, is, as I now know for a fact, a far from weird effort, but on the contrary, very worthwhile.

The three longest cuts of the album – Reelin’ With The Feelin’, Slow Burn and Boogalooin’ – written by arranger Richard Fritz, are fresh funkblues jams. Slow Burn is the highlight. The tight rhythm consisting of tacky drums and a rumbling bass figure so deep it makes you wonder how deep the ocean is in Carol Kaye’s mind, sets things in motion. From then on things are hard to pull to a stop. Kynard builds his solo well, veering from crunchy bass notes to burning rubber-phrases in the upper register. Felder puts in a yearning statement and throws in squeaky and honky twists. Joe Pass produces a mix of funky licks and fast, tricky phrases that travel beyond the confines of the pentatonic blues format. Ever thus, Slow Burn has to come to an end, and it does with a humorous stretch of notes by Kynard.

Predictably, Carol Kaye’s Soul Reggae is a reggae-type tune. It’s a charming ditty that bounces along merrily. Is Kaye the first to incorporate reggae into a jazz format? She might well be. In 1969, reggae wasn’t as yet the big thing it would become when Bob Marley got into the picture. Be My Love is a nice Latin tune. Kynard’s solo is a throat grabber, containing swift, fiery and freewheelin’ phrases, occasional outbursts and repeated r&b attacks. Stomp, written by Wilton Felder, is a variation of Dizzy Gillespie’s Blue ‘n’ Boogie. The drums fail to swing, but the immaculate unisono figures each couple plays behind the given soloist give it the necessary bite. As you may have noticed, Kynard didn’t bring any tunes to this session. You’ll hear, however, that it doesn’t effect the very pleasant and funky proceedings.

Charles Kynard’s date with Tom Waits took place in 1978. He died on July 8, 1979. There’s no such thing as an appropriate passing, but Kynard’s comes close. He died while playing his home organ.